The Poetry Marathon

Hour twenty

Under the shower,

so many happy memories with you under the shower,
then children having their shower
and the bathroom as a swimming pool.
A life can be lived under a shower
under the shower, warm and comforting,
a painful shoulder, a separation,
stuck in my painting,
my choice of colour, or clothes,
Lots can be sorted under the shower.
Under the shower,
remembering the torrential rainfall
from the last twenty four hours,
my shower is getting cold, icy and it takes me away.
My shower is now in the middle of the rain
and my house is no more.

Time Well Spent – Hour Twenty Three

I miss our batshit friendship,

Our crazy ‘third-on-the-right-eighth-on-the-left’ road trips

Our concerts in the park bandstand,

The sense we had the world in our hands,

About to be conquered by our own unique brands

Of madness,

But I’m happy we had this –

\the sky high jinks,

The far too many drinks,

You returning my coat covered in piss….

Even things like that I miss

Because in the moments I’ve

Never been more alive –

Than when every near-miss left me revived,

The kangaroo court

Where, with a great deal of thought,

We’d spent whole evenings deciding what ought

To be the most suitable punishment,

For every recent misdemeanour,

As the evening wore on, growing meaner and meaner.

 

We, my friend, were invincible

And we paid no mind to anyone inconvincible –

It was time well spent.

I See You

I am

inside

the letters

of this

poem.

 

That makes

no sense!

 

And yet

here I am,

staring

at you

staring

at the

letters

I write.

 

Why

do you

look

so

sad?

How to do crabbing

What an all day to catch a crab

And it takes a lot of patience to go crabbing under the heat of a fiery sun.

You add the bait inside the net

You lower the net to the bottom of the shallow water and wait

Yoy waited and waited but, the bait is gone and the crab had free lunch.

You add another bait into the net

You lower the net to the bottom of the shallow water and wait

You waited and waited all day and

To your surprise, a tiny, undersize crabs was trapped in the net

You let go those baby crabs and

Head off to a seafood market to buy a bushel of crabs for your family dinner

who are expecting, you’ll bring home a big catch.

Well , I miss crabbing in Virginia Beach

23

I can’t promise that I’m not a thunderstorm
but I was the best part of the rain.
The sleep weather.
The gentle roars.
The Friday nights in.
The cool flicker.
The grey.

Soon

I dreamed of time spent with you
Nestled to my chest
Soft and new

I ache with longing to see you
Hold you again
In my arms

I give thanks to pictures
To help pass the time until
I see you again

 

 

Depression

 

I am like the moon

dead inside but still

glowing

more whole some

days than others and

sometimes

disappearing but

 

even when the moon is shrouded

in darkness no one doubts

her right to

take up space

 

her beauty is all reflection how

the light bends toward her

 

and though the sun makes her

invisible after daylight has long

given up

she

shines

beautifully

 

until the sun remembers how

Just a haiku

Torches light the path tonight

Exuberant exhilaration course through the atmosphere alive

Follow its upward intent successfully

 

Brother

I miss those paper boats
We used to make on rainy days
And those magic shows
We used to watch in a daze.

I miss those story books
We used to read every day
And those art and craft lessons
Where we butchered the clay.

I miss all the times we
Hid from mom behind the rack
But most of all I miss you
Dear Brother! Please come back.

Hour Twenty-Three

The green wingback chairs, the cookie drawer,
Sandwiches made with butter and honey,
The dinners and back rubs and lullabies under pale coverlets,
Gifts of precious time and of money.

Surprised by this saltwater
Out of sight, out of mind, is a powerful lie.